Google is opening a new research center in China, with a focus specifically on AI. The company has been hiring up a ton of top AI talent within the country, but the news is still somewhat surprising given that Google has very little product presence within the Chinese market.

The search giant has been essentially reconfiguring its business around AI, however, and China is a key leader in the space that is outpacing the U.S. in the field according to some accounts.

If you can't provide same-day shipping are you even really a retailer? That's the question companies must be asking themselves in the age of Amazon, and Target definitely doesn't want to be left behind. Target acquired Shipt, which is based in Alabama, and spent $550 million to make it happen.

'Coincidentally' Amazon also today announced a broad expansion of its same-day and one-day shipping, covering thousands of new markets. The competition might want to catch up, but Amazon isn't going to make it easy.

Space is expensive, but a $90 million Series A definitely makes it more viable for a startup to dream of getting to the moon with two lunar missions before the end of 2020, which is what ispace hopes to do.

Apple wants to help its laser supplier grow, which probably means it has big ambitions for TrueDepth – across more devices. I'd love Face ID in a MacBook Apple, so hopefully that's partly what this is about.

Also, check out the TechCrunch Gift Guide for 2017. Time's running out – you're not creative enough to figure out the rest of your list on your own.